The human eye
Structure of a Human Eye
Of all the sense organs, the human eye is the
most significant one as it enables us to see
the beautiful, colourful world around us. The
eye is spherical in shape and has a diameter
of 2.3 cm on average. The internal structure of
the eye includes- the cornea, iris, pupil, lens,
ciliary muscles, retina, nerve cells, optic
nerve, yellow spot, aqueous and vitreous
humor, and suspensory ligament.
The various parts of eye and their functions :
•Retina: It is a light sensitive screen inside the eye on which image is formed. It contains rods and cones.
•Cornea: It is a thin membrane which covers the eye trail. It acts like a lens which refracts the light entering
the eye.
•Aqueous humour: It is fluid which fills the space between cornea and eye lens.
•Eye lens: It is a convex lens made of transparent and flexible jelly like material. Its curvature can be
adjusted with the help of ciliary muscles.
•Pupil: It is a hole in the middle of iris through which light enters the eye. It appears black because light
falling on it goes into the eye and does not come back.
•Ciliary muscles: These are the muscles which are attached to eye lens and can modify the shape of eye
lens which leads to the variation in focal lengths.
•Iris: It controls the amount of light entering the eye by changing the size of the pupil.
•Optical nerve: These are the nerves which take the image to the brain in the form of electrical signals.
•The human eye is roughly spherical in
shape with a diameter of about 2.3 cm. It
consists of a convex lens made up of living
tissues. Hence, human lenses are living
organs contrary to the simple optical
lenses. The following table lists the main
parts of the human eye and their
respective functions.
S.No. Human Eye Part Functions
1. Pupil Opens and closes in order to regulate and control the amount of light.
2. Iris Controls light level similar to the aperture of a camera.
3. Sclera Protects the outer coat.
4. Cornea A thin membrane which provides 67% of the eye’s focusing power.
5. Crystalline lens Helps to focus light into the retina.
6. Conjunctive Covers the outer surface (visible part) of the eye.
7. Aqueous humour Provides power to the cornea.
8. Vitreous humour Provides the eye with its form and shape.
9. Retina Captures the light rays focused by the lens and sends impulses to the brain via the
optic nerve.
10. Optic nerve Transmits electrical signals to the brain.
11. Ciliary muscles Contracts and extends in order to change the lens shape for focusing.
Camera aperture
Human Eye - Different Parts and their functions - Class 10
Teachoo
Rods and Cones
Rods and Cones are the photoreceptors, useful in providing
vision to the eyes.
Rods provide vision during dim light or night also known as
scotopic vision,
whereas cones provide vision during day time or at bright
light also known as photopic vision.
Rods and cones are the receptors in the retina responsible
for your sense of sight. They are the part of the eye
responsible for converting the light that enters your eye into
electrical signals that can be decoded by the vision-
processing center of the brain.
Cones are responsible for color vision.
So, where are rods and cones located in the human eye?
Rods are usually located around the boundary of the retina.
Cones are usually located in the center of the retina. Rods are
about 120 million photoreceptors out of the total 125 million
photoreceptors in the human eye
Cones & rods
What are the green ones?
What are the blue ones?
It lies exactly opposite the
centre of the cornea. 2. It has
What are the yellow pigment. 3. No nerve
starts from this spot. 4. It has a
characteristics shallow depression, the fovea
centralis, at its middle. 5. It
of yellow spot lacks visual receptors and is
sensitive to light. 6. The eye
in eye? coats are present at yellow
spot.
Difference between blind spot and yellow
spot
Blind spot lacks both rods and cone cells while yellow
spot have cone cells. Blind spot have no pigment while
yellow spot have yellow colored xanthophyll pigment. Blind
spot have no visual receptor and it is insensitive to light
while yellow spot also have no visual receptors but it is
sensitive to light.
What is a blind
spot in the eye?
A blind spot is a natural
spot found on the retina of
our eye. It is also known as
the scotoma. Each eye has
a blind spot. It is the size
of a pinhead. All
vertebrates have a blind
spot in their eyes. Optic
nerves and blood vessels
leave the eyeball from this
point. Photoreceptors such
as rods and cones are
absent in the blind spot.
